Kane's POV:
So, the daughter of Alpha Samuel was my mate. Of all the possibilities, I hadn't anticipated this. She must have just turned eighteen, allowing me to finally scent her out. The realization hit me hard. I'd known Samuel had a daughter, but I had never involved myself with his family or any of his pack members—except when formalities required it. I wouldn't have recognized the woman calling her name as the Luna if she hadn't stepped forward to speak to me during the first initiation of the contract.
Ella... Elena, I repeated the name in my head. Her name even sounded sweet, like something foreign on my defiled tongue, a name too pure for someone like me.
Seeing her, though, stirred something in me. The moment our eyes met, everything inside me screamed mine. The pull was undeniable. I didn't want her to leave my sight—not yet, not ever. There was this primal fear that she might vanish, disappear as soon as I'd found her. How could I let her walk away?
But I knew better. If she was indeed the daughter of the Luna, then this woman was soon to be my mother-in-law. And no matter how powerful or ruthless I was, there were boundaries to respect. I wasn't going to start off by disrespecting my future family—especially not the mother to my mate.
Yet, watching her walk away felt wrong, like I was allowing something precious to slip through my fingers. The possessiveness surged within me. Every instinct screamed to grab her, pull her back, claim her right there and then. But I was Alpha Kane, not some wild animal incapable of control. Still, the tension was a living thing between us. I could feel her wolf responding, the undeniable pull that only mates could share. Even though her back was turned, I could sense her awareness of me, the way her body seemed to acknowledge mine without words.
But the situation was complicated. Samuel, her father, was indebted to me—bound by a contract that gave me power over his pack. A contract that was not forged out of mutual respect but out of necessity and dominance. I knew how much Elena hated me without even needing to hear it. It was in her eyes, the shock, the disbelief when she realized who I was. I could see the struggle in her, the battle between her desire to acknowledge our bond and the weight of everything she must have heard about me.
And yet, the thought of her being mine—truly mine—was something I couldn't ignore. The very idea that the fiery, beautiful daughter of Alpha Samuel, with her long, flowing hair and defiant spirit, was destined to be mine filled me with an unfamiliar sense of pride and possessiveness. I had expected my mate to be someone who would simply fall in line, someone who would submit. But Elena... she was a challenge. And damn if I didn't want to rise to it.
I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to rein in the overpowering emotions that threatened to consume me. I wanted her now, but I knew this wasn't the time. Rushing things with her would only push her further away, and I couldn't afford that—not when I had just found her.
When I looked back at the Luna , her eyes met mine with a guarded intensity. She wasn't blind to the connection between her daughter and me. She'd noticed how Elena had reacted, and she was probably weighing her options—wondering how to protect her only child from me, the notorious Alpha Kane. Little did she know, there was nothing she could do to break the bond that was already forming. Elena was mine, and I wasn't about to let her go.
But I had to be smart about this. "I'll be back to finalize this situation as you have noticed that your daughter is my mate, Luna," I said, my voice low but filled with the authority that came naturally to me.
She nodded, her expression unreadable, and I turned to leave. But my mind was already on Elena, wondering how I would approach her next. She was my mate, and that meant sooner or later, she'd have to accept it, no matter how much she fought it now.
I turned away from where Elena and her mother had disappeared, my mind still reeling from the unexpected turn of events. The woman I had just scented as my mate—Alpha Samuel's daughter. A part of me couldn't believe it, but the pull was undeniable. Fate had finally thrown me a curveball I hadn't expected, but I wasn't one to walk away from a challenge.
I headed back to where I had left Luke, my beta, waiting by the trees outside the pack house. As I approached, I could see him standing exactly where I told him to stay, ever the loyal soldier. His sharp eyes locked on mine, and I could already tell he was curious. The look on my face must have given everything away.
"Plans have changed," I said, stopping a few feet in front of him.
His eyebrow raised slightly, but he kept his silence, waiting for me to explain.
"I've found my mate."
For the first time, I saw real shock cross his usually composed face. Luke had been with me through thick and thin—he knew everything about me, including how I'd stopped waiting for a mate years ago. His eyes widened slightly as if he was trying to process what I'd just said. "You... found her?"
I gave him a nod, letting the realization sink in for both of us.
"And she's Samuel's daughter," I added, watching his expression go from shock to a mixture of surprise and understanding. He let out a low whistle.
"The daughter of Alpha Samuel," he repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "Does this mean… the contract's going to be suspended?" he asked cautiously.
I chuckled darkly at that. "You know how I operate, Luke. That contract doesn't change just because I've found my mate. They're still indebted to me, even if Samuel's going to be my father-in-law." The thought of that made me chuckle even more. Fate had a twisted sense of humor, but I wasn't complaining.
Luke gave a small nod, understanding my position completely. "You're not leaving without her, are you?"
"No," I growled low in my throat, the possessiveness rising in me again. "I'm not leaving without my mate."
I turned to look back at the path that led to the cabins, the place where I had just met her. Every part of me itched to go after her, to claim her right now and take her back to my pack where she belonged. But I wasn't a fool. Elena wasn't going to be an easy conquest—she had fire, and that only made me want her more. I would have to play this carefully. She hated me, that much was clear. I could see it in the way her eyes widened in disbelief when she realized who I was. But that didn't matter. She was mine, and no amount of resistance would change that.
I turned back to Luke. "You head back to our pack. Set things straight. Make sure everything is in order," I commanded.
Luke gave a respectful nod, though his gaze still held some amusement. "I'll handle things. And Kane—good luck with wooing her. Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you."
I chuckled. "She's going to be a challenge, but I've never backed down from one before, have I?"
"No, you haven't," Luke said with a grin.
With that, Luke shifted into his wolf, disappearing into the forest as he made his way back to our pack. I stayed behind, my mind already plotting my next move. Elena wasn't just any woman. She was my mate. But more than that, she was the daughter of the alpha who owed me everything. Her stubbornness and the hatred she undoubtedly harbored toward me would only make things more interesting.
There was no point in delaying the inevitable. I was going to get her, and I wasn't going to leave without her. She could try to resist, but it would only be a matter of time before she realized the truth. Mates were bound by fate, and no amount of denial could change that.
I started walking back toward the pack house, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me. Ash was just as eager as I was to claim our mate, but I had to keep a lid on my urges. There was a delicate balance here. Samuel and his pack were still indebted to me, and despite how much I wanted to storm in and take what was mine, I couldn't afford to play recklessly. Not yet.
As I neared the pack house, I spotted a few of the pack members glancing my way, clearly aware of who I was. They kept their distance, and I couldn't help but smirk. Fear and respect—two things I had earned over the years, and they served me well in situations like this.
I was Alpha Kane, after all. And I wasn't just here to play nice. I was here to collect my mate, and I'd be damned if anyone stood in my way.
I could almost see her in my mind's eye, the way her eyes had widened when we locked gazes, the way her breath had caught as the realization hit her. She knew, even if she wasn't ready to admit it yet. She felt the pull, just like I did.
This was only the beginning. Soon enough, Elena would be mine. And when that day came, there would be no going back.